Feminist leadership training kicks off in South Africa
Transformative feminist leadership training programme has opened bringing together a diverse group of women leaders and feminist experts in South Africa.
The inaugural session held yesterday has set the stage for an intensive journey of exploration, growth and empowerment.
Speaking when she opened the event, Africa Women Leaders Forum Zambia Chapter project coordinator Mutinta Himunyanga challenged participants to confront the intersections of patriarchy, racism and oppression while recognising the ways in which systems of power operate and intersect and develop strategies to dismantle them.
She said: “The Transformative Feminist Leadership School is a programme designed to strengthen feminist solidarity, leadership, advocacy, and strategies to build collective power for socio-political transformation.
“This school brings together feminists from across the region to deepen their understanding of current challenges and opportunities. It critically examines how patriarchy and gender intersect with nation, identity, religion, polity, and development, shedding light on both the achievements of feminist struggles and the persistence of patriarchal structures in perpetuating inequalities.”
The training programme, facilitated by the African Women Leaders Forum, seeks to equip women leaders with the skills, knowledge and networks necessary to drive transformative change in their communities and has brought together participants from Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Mozambique and the Republic of South Africa.
According to the Africa Women Leaders Forum, feminist leadership is grounded in principles of equality, intersectionality, collaboration, and social justice.